After dinner I grabbed the 223 (hoping for a longer shot after hunting the golf course earlier) and headed out the door at about 6 pm. First I went to the garden farm. Nothing. Next I went to the pumpkin farm. Let me digress.
Yesterday afternoon I walked the perimeter of the pumpking patch to see what I could find. Did see some minor pumpking damage and a hole at the edge of the field. I marked it with broken branch above the hole, with the intention of coming back for a try at whatever was living there. Ranged it at 201 yds from where I planned to shoot using the roof on the cap on my truck.
So, with that in mind, I pulled into the lower driveway below the house, headed to the back of the property where the pumpkins are located. As I looked to my right at the back of the house and upper barn, I spotted a ghog I had never seen before in the two full years I've been hunting there. It started running toward the barn and stopped. I stopped the truck and it took off again right into an open doorway of the barn, below the main floor.
I drove around to the back of the main, larger barn, parked the truck, grabbed the 223 and the rangefinder binos and walked to the front of the barn that faces the door where the ghog disappeared. When I got to the front of the barn I looked through a window to see if I could see the hog. Nothing. I grabbed a chair that happened to be by the barn door, walked outside, placed the chair behind a conveyor used to send hay into the loft, placed the gun on the conveyor for a good solid rest and waited.
About ten or fifteen minutes went by when I spotted an old grey face through the scope, peering out of the doorway. I patiently watched as it cautiously advanced forward down the gradually sloping hillside, looking up every few steps. I could swear it was looking right at me, but new I had good cover for the shot.
Once it walked about 5 or so yards it stopped and raised its head as if sniffing the air or looking for something. That's when I pulled the trigger and watched it go down right there. Whack! Yes! I was only a 100 yard shot, but it felt good to fire something with more power at a longer distance than the .17 HMR I had been using for weeks.
Definitely and old female and a smart one too. Guess that's how she managed to stay alive so long even with me prowling around for two years once or twice a week. Just dumb luck on my part!
Could not find and entrance or exit wound??? Oh well, it was a good shot and dead is dead! Oh yeah, 10.4 lbs.
Yesterday afternoon I walked the perimeter of the pumpking patch to see what I could find. Did see some minor pumpking damage and a hole at the edge of the field. I marked it with broken branch above the hole, with the intention of coming back for a try at whatever was living there. Ranged it at 201 yds from where I planned to shoot using the roof on the cap on my truck.
So, with that in mind, I pulled into the lower driveway below the house, headed to the back of the property where the pumpkins are located. As I looked to my right at the back of the house and upper barn, I spotted a ghog I had never seen before in the two full years I've been hunting there. It started running toward the barn and stopped. I stopped the truck and it took off again right into an open doorway of the barn, below the main floor.
I drove around to the back of the main, larger barn, parked the truck, grabbed the 223 and the rangefinder binos and walked to the front of the barn that faces the door where the ghog disappeared. When I got to the front of the barn I looked through a window to see if I could see the hog. Nothing. I grabbed a chair that happened to be by the barn door, walked outside, placed the chair behind a conveyor used to send hay into the loft, placed the gun on the conveyor for a good solid rest and waited.
About ten or fifteen minutes went by when I spotted an old grey face through the scope, peering out of the doorway. I patiently watched as it cautiously advanced forward down the gradually sloping hillside, looking up every few steps. I could swear it was looking right at me, but new I had good cover for the shot.
Once it walked about 5 or so yards it stopped and raised its head as if sniffing the air or looking for something. That's when I pulled the trigger and watched it go down right there. Whack! Yes! I was only a 100 yard shot, but it felt good to fire something with more power at a longer distance than the .17 HMR I had been using for weeks.
Definitely and old female and a smart one too. Guess that's how she managed to stay alive so long even with me prowling around for two years once or twice a week. Just dumb luck on my part!
Could not find and entrance or exit wound??? Oh well, it was a good shot and dead is dead! Oh yeah, 10.4 lbs.
